


Silver Linings

by raidelle



Series: Raidelle's Alphabet Prompts [11]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dogs, F/F, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 15:08:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15731919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raidelle/pseuds/raidelle
Summary: Crowe has a recurring nightmare from her time in the army. As she tries to adjust, her fellow soldier suggests that she try something new: get a dog.





	Silver Linings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stopmopingstarthoping](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stopmopingstarthoping/gifts).



> The prompt was **Invitation** \+ Crowe/Luna. (CrowFreya?)
> 
> Please don't let the opening paragraphs and tags discourage you. I promise it gets better.
> 
> And I'm sorry that this took quite a while, Hope. I really hope you like this. ^_^
> 
> (Note: The Wiki says Umbra and Pryna are Shiba Inu mixes, so I went with that. Please don't be mad at me, I really don't know much about dogs. ^^;)

Crowe ran and ran, her legs and lungs burning with each step and breath, but there was only steel corridor after steel corridor that reeked of bleach and the copper tang of blood.

She knew there was someone waiting for her at the end; she’d had this nightmare many times before, but she always forgot who it was in that cell, strapped to a waterboard and unmistakably dead.

Was it Pelna? Tredd? Libertus? Gladio? Gods, she hoped not. Gladio was like a brother to her. But if not Gladio, then who? Who would be there waiting for her with sightless eyes and --

The final door hissed open and there he was. She would know him anywhere. There was no mistaking that face, those tattoos, those braids. “Nyx,” she breathed.

She rattled the bars of the cell in a desperate attempt to get to Nyx, to get him off that board and take his body home. To lay him down next to his mother and sister. But she wasn’t strong enough, she never has been, and all she did was create an echoing clang of steel to drown out her voice. “Nyx, Nyx, Nyx.”

And she cried and cried and cried until she woke, drenched in sweat and tangled in her sheets, Nyx’s dog tag clutched in her hand.

*****

Crowe considered it lucky she got three hours before the Astrals-damned nightmare woke her up. At least she wouldn’t have to wait before she could talk to someone. She yawned and stretched, heaved a huge sigh, then picked up her phone and speed dialed her best friend.

Ignis picked up on the first ring. She could hear the faint thump-scrape of a coffee mug on the granite countertop and Crowe had to shake her head at his clockwork predictability. “Are you all right?” he said without so much as a preamble.

Crowe’s tone was rueful. “What? I can’t just call you and have a nice chat?”

“It’s five thirty in the morning, Crowe,” Ignis said and she could picture the raised eyebrow.

Crowe sighed in defeat. “Can I come over? I need your strawberry crepes.” On her palm still lay Nyx’s dog tag; she caressed it with her thumb and she wondered how soon the engravings would flatten under her almost constant touch.

"You’re assuming, of course, that I have strawberries in stock.” Ignis said sternly, but Crowe could hear him opening the fridge and sliding out the crisper drawer. A faint rustling told her all she needed to know.

Thank the fucking Six for Ignis Scientia. “It sounds like I assumed correctly,” Crowe said, a tentative smile blooming on her lips.

Ignis laughed one of his breathy laughs. “Yes, you did. Now go! These will be ready when you get here.”

“Thanks, sweetie.”

“Anytime.”

*****

Talking with Ignis was always cathartic. Once or twice, Crowe had wondered aloud why he didn’t become a therapist instead. Ignis insisted that his calling was in the kitchen, although a smile would curl his lips as if he were flattered.

“Thanks again, Ignis. For the crepes and…” Crowe shrugged. “For putting up with me.”

Ignis pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Who else would put up with you?” he teased.

“Uh, me?” a voice came up from behind them. Gladio was rubbing vigorously at his eyes as he walked blindly into the kitchen. “G’morning, babe. Hey, Crowe. S’up?” He plucked one of the remaining crepes and demolished it in one bite.

Crowe snorted at Ignis’s indignant expression. Oh, how he loved these two. They made her forget for a while. To be honest, she sometimes envied Gladio of the solace and love he’d found and in the arms of one of her closest and oldest friends at that. But Gladio was also a picture of hope for her. That maybe she could have this kind of peace someday.

“You know what I think you need, Crowe?” Gladio muttered around another mouthful of crepe (which made Ignis swat him with a dish towel). “A dog.”

“A dog,” she repeated skeptically. Crowe was grateful that she and Gladio usually didn’t need to explain anything to each other, but this time she felt the need to clarify. “Seriously? I can barely keep a goldfish alive.”

“Okay, fine,” Gladio conceded with a small laugh. “But dogs aren’t goldfish,” he continued reasonably. “And they’re really good emotional support animals, right? Real active, too. You can get one that can go with you on your morning runs!”

Crowe raised an eyebrow at her friend. “You seem really enthusiastic about this.”

“I’m just saying it’s worth a try,” Gladio said. “Right?” he turned to Ignis as if asking for support.

The couple was having one of their silent conversations with eyes and eyebrows, and Crowe gave them a suspicious look. “You’re plotting something. I can tell,” she said. This was directed to Ignis, who faced her with his best poker face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ignis said in his most dignified voice. He poured himself more coffee, then took a sip and looked at her over the rim of the mug for maximum effect.

“Just give it a try,” Gladio pushed. “Visit that shelter at 36th and Nebula Boulevard. I used to really want a dog so I went there often just to look.”

“We could still get one, you know,” Ignis said. “If you really want one.”

Gladio grinned. “Nah. You already have enough to deal with, babe, cleaning up after me and taking me out on walks so I don’t spend my pent up energy ruining furniture and shit.”

“Next time, then.” Ignis’s smile was so tender, Crowe felt the need to look away. The moment was ruined, however, when Ignis turned back to her and said, “So it’s decided then? You’re going to get a dog?”

“What? No!”

“Just go have a look. See if you like the company,” Gladio told her. “If not, well, then no harm done, right?”

“Fine, fine,” Crowe relented. She supposed it wasn’t the worst idea Gladio ever had.

“You can go now, if you like. They won’t open until ten, but I can call ahead and let them know you’re coming,” Ignis said, already picking up his phone.

“Eager to get rid of me, aren’t you?” Crowe said, but she moved to fetch her coat and lace up her boots all the same.

Gladio wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Yeah, and you know why!”

“Ew! Keep it to yourselves until I at least clear the door!” Crowe protested.

“Say hi to Luna for us!” Ignis called.

Crowe heard a thump and a crash, and an indignant squawk from Ignis as she got off the curb. She shook her head and smiled at their antics and obvious love for each other. Their disgusting sweetness almost made her forget about Ignis’s reminder, until she found herself face to face with the woman in question.

*****

“You must be Crowe. I’m Luna, come on in.”

“Uh,” Crowe replied blankly. She had to blink at the smiling woman holding the door open for her. With pale, creamy skin, white-blonde hair, and blue, blue eyes, there was no other word for her but radiant. And Crowe was blinded. “Uh, yeah. That’s me. Um, Ignis said to tell you hi.”

Luna giggled. “Of course. You can tell him right back that I’m expecting him and Gladio soon. I have a darling up for adoption that’s just perfect for them.”

“Right.” Crowe wanted to say something else, something smarter, but her tongue was currently stuck to the roof of her mouth and it was all she could manage.

Luna smiled at her again and gestured her head toward the shelter. “Come on. Let’s see if you take a shine to anyone, hmm? Or vice versa, that works too.”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure.”

Crowe stepped in, mentally crossing her fingers and hoping to Shiva that the dogs won’t smell the blood on her hands. She let Luna’s light -- it was melodramatic of her to think that, but fuck, the woman was the glow of moonlight personified -- guide her. Luna’s lilting voice was filled with such pure adoration as she cooed at the dogs that Crowe couldn’t help but feel at ease and almost convinced that she _had_ to get one.

“So, um, what do you think is the best dog for me?” she asked tentatively, looking at a rather large dog she was sure was a labrador.

Luna turned back to her and ran an assessing eye over her, from head to toe and back again. It made Crowe self-conscious of her messy bun and strawberry crepe breath. “Hmm. I’d say an Akita,” she said. “But go have a look around first. You’ll just know, trust me.”

Crowe had half a mind to ask Luna what an Akita was, just to keep her talking, but at that moment, two dogs came rushing out of a back room to crowd at Luna’s feet. She immediately fell into a graceful squat (who knew squats could be graceful?) and ruffled both dogs’ furs at the neck. The white one whined happily, while the black one licked her face eagerly, as if it had been separated from Luna too long.

“Hey, I told you two to stay back there, right?” she mock-admonished. “We have a guest and we don’t want to overwhelm her!”

“That’s okay. I’m kind of used to dogs. We, uh, we had a few of them in my army unit,” Crowe offered. “Hello.” She gave the two dogs a little wave.

“Oh,” Luna said, and Crowe was thankful and relieved that she didn’t press for details. “Well this beautiful girl right here is Pryna,” she gestured to the white one, who immediately sat down and wagged her tail. “And this eager fellow is Umbra. They’re sister and brother.”

Umbra trotted to Crowe’s side, gave her boots a sniff, and, to the shock of both women, immediately laid on his back and presented his stomach.

“Um.” Crowe was unsure. “Should I?”

Luna got over her surprise rather quickly, and nodded her approval. “Go on. He doesn’t ask for belly rubs all that often so you better take advantage when he does.”

With a nod, Crowe crouched in front of the dog and scratched its tummy. “Hey there, buddy. My name’s Crowe. Nice to meet you.”

Umbra let out a pleased bark, tongue lolling out and eyes closing in satisfaction. One of his hind legs twitched and gave Crowe a light kick when she stopped rubbing for a few seconds. She laughed and continued her ministrations, which earned her a high-pitched howl. That made Luna’s eyebrows raise in disbelief.

“Well, I guess a Shiba Inu is close enough,” she said. “Do you want him?”

“What?” To say Crowe was unprepared for that question was an understatement.

“Umbra and Pryna are two of our oldest dogs here. They haven’t been adopted because they’re kind of… choosy?” Luna sounded almost apologetic. “They’re really wary of strangers, and this is the first time in a long while that Umbra has actually shown interest in someone. And Shiba Inus only ever scream like that when they’re around people they like.”

“Right,” Crowe said. Umbra was now laying on his stomach, his legs splayed behind him like a furry frog, and looking up at her with adoring eyes. “Um.”

Umbra blinked at her and Crowe could feel her will crumble under the innocence, resolve, and understanding in those amber eyes. She looked up helplessly at Luna, who gave her a look that said “Are you going to leave the good boy hanging?”

“Uh, well, I don’t --” Umbra’s ears drooped and she backtracked immediately. “I mean it’s not that I --”

“How’s this,” Luna said. She stood smoothly from where she was still crouched beside Pryna. “Come back here a few more times, see if the attraction is not a one time thing. If you still feel the same, then it’s a good match, don’t you think?”

Something in that honey-sweet tone made Crowe think Luna wasn’t just talking about the dog. “Sounds good,” she said. “When should I come back?”

“Is Friday night at seven okay?”

*****

_8:02 P.M. Gladio: How’d it go? Did you get a dog?_

_8:03 P.M. Crowe: Umbra likes me. And no I didn’t get a dog. Not yet._

_8:03 P.M. Gladio: WHY DIDN’T YOU GET UMBRA DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HE LIKES?_

_8:03 P.M. Crowe: Calm down._

_8:04 P.M. Gladio: He only likes two people. Luna and now you. If that’s not a sign that you should get him, I don’t know what is._

_8:05 P.M. Gladio: Iggy says you gotta get Umbra._

_8:06 P.M. Crowe: I said not YET, Gladio. Calm the fuck down._

_8:07 P.M. Crowe: I didn’t get a dog but I got a date._

_8:07 P.M. Crowe: Luna asked me out. I said yes._

_8:07 P.M. Crowe: You set me up._

_8:07 P.M. Crowe: Didn’t you?_

_8:08 P.M. Crowe: I should be mad but I’m not._

_8:08 P.M. Crowe: So thanks. Both of you._

_8:08 P.M. Gladio: ;)_

_8:10 P.M. Ignis: Anytime, sweetie._

*****

Crowe ran and ran, her legs and lungs burning with each step and breath, but there was only steel corridor after steel corridor that reeked of bleach and the copper tang of blood.

She knew there was someone waiting for her at the end; she’d had this nightmare many times before, but she always forgot who it was in that cell at the end of the hall.

When the last door hissed open, her heart clenched so tight she couldn’t breathe. Who is it, who is it, who is it?

The door opened to a moonlit glade of sylleblossoms. Crowe was so sure it was a trap, she immediately whirled back toward the steel hall. But the door was gone, the blood-and-bleach scent was gone, and all there was in front of her was the field of green and blue, bathed in cool, silvery moonlight.

Excited barks, rustling grass, and tinkling laughter floated toward her, beautiful sounds she never thought she’d hear again in a dream. Crowe walked toward the symphony, the chains around her heart loosening and then falling away.

 

When she woke up that morning, seven whole hours later, Crowe felt at peace. She looked at the dog tag still clutched in her hand, and for the first time in many, many months, she looked at it with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated. Please let me know what you think.
> 
> If you want to holler at me over on Tumblr, I'm raidelle there, too. :)


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